Speeches that Changed Canada - Softcover

Gruending, Dennis

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1554551129 ISBN 13: 9781554551125

Publisher: Fitzhenry and Whiteside, 2019

Synopsis

In this new book, former MP Dennis Gruending focuses on speeches by 11 of Canada's finest political orators. This book will be a welcome companion to anyone interested in Canadian history, politics, literature and rhetoric. It will also be a useful source and guide for those who write speeches or deliver them.

Gruending deals with one speech in each of the 11 chapters: 

• Describing in detail the rich historical context in which each speech was delivered;
• Paying close attention to both the content of each speech and rhetorical techniques employed by the orators; and
• Examining the speech's immediate and long term impact upon Canada and Canadians.

The book begins with John A Macdonald's arguing on behalf of Confederation in 1865 and ends with chief Joseph Gosnell's powerful address in support of the Nisga'a treaty in 1998. The book also contains: Louis Riel's speech to the jury; Wilfrid Laurier's warning the Catholic clergy to stay out of politics; Nellie McClung's demand that women receive the vote; Agnes Macphail's call for both political reforms and the full equality of women; Arthur Meighen's divisive speech on military conscription; Richard Bennett's attempt to give Canada a New Deal during the Depression; Tommy Douglas introducing Medicare; Lester Pearson's epic debates with John Diefenbaker over a new flag for Canada, and Pierre Trudeau's "No" to sovereignty association in the 1980 Quebec referendum.

About this title

From the Author:

In 2004, Fitzhenry & Whiteside published my anthology Great Canadian Speeches, which collected 78 speeches delivered by Canadian orators between 1835 and 2002. The book sold well but I was interested in boring down farther and doing more historical writing than an anthology format would allow.

However, I was to write other books and to undertake a busy job with a labour organization before returning to my pet project. In 2016, the publisher and I decided the time was right for my second book about speeches. This time I chose only 11 Canadian orators, devoting a chapter to one speech given by each of them. 

I write about the historical context in which each speech was delivered and how the speaker in question had acquired his or her oratorical skills; I include generous excerpts from each speech and analyze what rhetorical devices the speaker was using to win over his or her audience. Finally, I describe what impact the speech in question has had upon Canada and Canadians.

Writing 11 mini-biographies and analyzing each of these speeches in detail was highly detailed and time consuming work, but I am very pleased with the book. I hope that you will be too.

From the Back Cover:

Words matter, and in politics, perhaps words matter even more. They shape opinions, energize thoughts, and influence decisions. In this new book, Dennis Gruending, author of the best-seller Great Canadian Speeches, has selected great speeches that changed Canada. From Louis Riel to Agnes Macphail, from Lester Pearson to Joseph Gosnell, Gruending describes in detail the rich historical context surrounding each speech; he analyzes its immediate and long-term impact upon Canadian history; and he reviews the rhetorical techniques employed by each orator to make the point he or she set out to make. This book is also fun to read!

About this edition

• Publisher: Fitzhenry and Whiteside
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 1554551129
• ISBN 13: 9781554551125
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 272